Admissions Requirements

Application Requirements

1. Online Graduate Application Form

Required for all applicants.

2. Non-refundable $65 Application Fee

Required for all applicants.

3. Official Transcripts

Required for all applicants.

Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work are required. Transcripts
must be submitted from each institution attended, even if transfer units appear on
another document. If you attend(ed) an institution with pass/fail grades, please also
include any accompanying narrative evaluations.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to see that all transcripts are submitted as
a part of the application. It may be necessary to submit transcripts on which final
grades have not yet been posted, in which case you should provide supplementary transcripts
as soon as possible. If there is a delay in processing your official transcript request,
you should submit unofficial photocopies of transcripts in the interim. Without a
complete set of transcripts, your application will be considered incomplete.

International applicants and those who received bachelor’s degrees and/or master’s
degrees from higher education institutions outside the United States are required
to submit official transcript evaluations. See the Graduate Admissions Requirements
for further instructions.

4. Grade Point Average Exemption Petition

Required only if GPA is below 3.0.

California School of Professional Psychology requires that applicants have an undergraduate
and graduate (if applicable) minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. If
your undergraduate or graduate (if applicable) GPA is below 3.0, you must submit a
petition requesting an exemption from this academic requirement. Please use the designated
space in the online application to indicate which of the following options will constitute
your GPA exemption petition:

If you choose to submit the statement or the supporting publication material, please
do so in the GPA Exemption Petition field on the online application. If you choose
to submit official test scores, please provide additional detail in the Test Scores
section of the online application.

5. Resume/Curriculum Vita

Required for all applicants.

Submit a current resume or curriculum vita, which includes your experience relative
to the field of clinical psychology, including volunteer work if applicable.

6. Essay

Required for all applicants.

Applicants to all Clinical Psychology programs must submit an essay as a part of the
application. Please respond in one comprehensive essay of 6-7 double-spaced pages
to the following, using distinct sections for each part. Include your name and the
page number at the top of each page.

A. A brief autobiographical sketch. Discuss your life up to now: your family, friends,
home, work and community. We are particularly interested in those experiences most
relevant to your interest in professional psychology and how those experiences have
helped formulate your career goals (at least 3-4 pages).

B. Since many different graduate programs exist, and the choice is such an important
one, explain specifically why you have chosen to apply to the PsyD program or the
PhD program at CSPP, and which aspects of CSPP, its programs, its approach to diversity,
and its mission have attracted you to the school (1 page).

C. What research or applied clinical problem would you like to explore in your PhD
dissertation? Please be specific. Tell us something about your knowledge of research
methods and other investigative formats, integration of the professional literature
on the topic, and the application of theory and scholarship to this research problem.
We are interested in your own past activities and experiences as a scholar or researcher,
and encourage you to draw on those experiences. (1-2 pages)

D. In what emphasis, proficiency or academic area would you choose to concentrate
your studies at CSPP? Please relate this to your career goals.

Doctoral Respecialization Applicants: Please answer sections A, B and D (understanding
that you are applying as a respecialization candidate rather than PhD or PsyD per
se). Instead of question C, submit a copy of your dissertation abstract.

7. Course Descriptions

Course descriptions are required in the following two instances:

Graduate Entry Requirement: If you are using courses to meet the graduate entry requirements for a program, you
must submit course descriptions if the courses you are using to fulfill the required
subjects are titled differently from program requirements. Appropriate documentation
includes copies of course descriptions, outlines or syllabi. This information should
be submitted with your application material.

Clinical Psychology Graduate Entry Requirement: Preparation in PsychologyYou must have completed one of the following three options prior to matriculation.
All coursework used to fulfill graduate entry requirements must have been completed
prior to beginning the program. All coursework must have been taken at fully accredited
institutions. Please use the designated space in the online application to indicate
how you are meeting the graduate entry requirement.

Option #1: Earned a BA/BS degree in psychology. (A master’s degree will not fulfill
this requirement.)

Option #2: If the BA/BS degree is not in psychology, you must have completed coursework
in the following four areas with a grade of "C" or better:

Option #3: Earned a score in the 80th percentile or better on the GRE Psychology Test.
Official test scores are required for this option.

Content for the coursework option is as follows:

STATISTICS: The nature of normal distribution, principles of sampling theory, probability,
simple statistics (t-tests, F-ratios, chisquare, r, non-parametric), introduction
to analysis of variance. May be taken outside the psychology department.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING/TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS:Principles of test construction, evaluation, selection, and use; methods for determining
validity and reliability; item analysis; theory and research concerning testing; ethical
and cultural issues. May be taken outside the psychology department.

EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: Introduction to scientific procedures and methods in psychology.
Directed experience in research design and control, analysis, bibliographic and report
writing techniques. May include a specific research techniques course in perception,
physiology, learning, or complex behavior (social, cognition).

PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY: The study of human behavior from a physiological viewpoint.
Sensorimotor systems, sleep, dreaming and attention, motivation, neural transmission
and synaptic function, heredity, drugs, organic brain pathology. Must focus on the
relationship between the psychological and physiological aspects of behavior.

LEARNING THEORY: Broad theoretical coverage of such learning theories as classical
and operant conditioning, Gestalt, functionalism, mathematical learning theory, information
theory, technology of instruction. Theorists include Pavlov, Thorndike, Guthrie, Hull,
Tolman, and Skinner. Should not be limited to a single theory or theorist.

Alliant’s Continuing Education Division offers many of the prerequisite courses in
an online format. Contact your admissions counselor or the CE website for details.

Transfer Credit: If you are petitioning to receive transfer credit for previous graduate work, you
must submit a detailed coursework portfolio along with your application, which includes
course outlines, syllabi or letters from instructors describing specific course content
for all relevant graduate courses completed. If coursework was taken at more than
one institution, indicate the institution where each course was taken.

Applicants to CSPP graduate programs may be eligible to receive credit for previous
graduate work, at the discretion of the program to which they are admitted. These
credits must be completed with a grade of “B” or better from a regionally accredited
institution within the past seven years. Applicants to the San Francisco campus Clinical
Psychology PhD or PsyD programs may also submit verification of supervised professional
experience, and should contact the campus admissions office for additional information.

A maximum of 30 semester units of graduate coursework can be accepted into a doctoral
program. All applicants must meet the graduate level entry requirements for the program
of application before they will be reviewed for transfer credit. Program-specific
information about transfer credit eligibility may be obtained from the admissions
office and is included in the university catalog.

8. Test Scores

Test scores are required in the following three instances. In these cases, please
include this information in the Test Scores section of the online application.

English Proficiency: Applicants whose native language is not English or who have not
earned an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited U.S. higher education
institution are required to submit test scores to show English proficiency. Please
see the Alliant International University Graduate Admissions Requirements for further
instructions. If you have a unique situation and can demonstrate English proficiency
in a manner not outlined in one of these options, please contact your admissions counselor
directly to request an exemption from this requirement.

GPA Exemption Petition: Applicants may elect to submit GRE scores to support the GPA
Exemption Petition.

9. Recommendations

Two recommendations are required for all applicants.

Recommendations should be from references familiar with your work, your academic abilities,
or your potential for scholarship and professional accomplishment. If you have been
out of school for several years, please feel free to submit recommendations from persons
who are familiar with you on any level of professional involvement.

10. Additional Requirements for International Applicants

International applicants should review the additional requirements outlined in the
Alliant International University Graduate Admissions Requirements.